Circuit Attorney News & Updates

He burst into a home and fired a high-powered rifle at the man who came downstairs to check on the commotion.

Now, Daaron Harris will spend the rest of his life in prison for murder.

In August 2012, the 20-year-old victim was visiting his girlfriend in the 2000 block of E. Obear in the Downtown West neighborhood. It was broad daylight and several children were also at home. There was a loud noise and the victim went downstairs, unarmed, to see what was going on. He was shot and killed, his body riddled with rounds from a shotgun, an assault rifle, and a handgun.

During the police investigation, Harris was identified as a suspect. Following his arrest, he told the police that he was retaliating from an earlier shooting incident, but prosecutors believe Harris mistakenly targeted the wrong home.

Ballistics evidence from a 9 mm handgun, an assault rifle, and a shotgun indicate that there was likely at least one additional shooter at the scene. Witnesses saw two men walking away at the shooting, but no one saw their faces. Harris would not give names of anyone else who might have been there and police have not been able to make any additional arrests.

Harris told the police that he was armed with an assault rifle that he had stashed near the home, prior to the shooting. Two of the victim's injuries would have been fatal on their own - the wound from the rifle and the wound from the shotgun.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Christine Krug recommended Harris serve a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the murder.

"He went into that home shooting without regard for which home he was entering or who might be present," ACA Krug wrote in court documents.

A judge agreed with the state's recommendation for the murder charge. Harris was also given an additional 30 years for his other crimes.